Wall Street was under pressure last week due to renewed weakness in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. There were growing concerns over a U.S. economic slowdown also. The S&P 500 lost 2.2%, the Dow Jones retreated about 1.2% and the Nasdaq sold off 3%.
Concerns over inflated stock prices, mainly in AI-related momentum stocks, hit Wall Street hard last week. Venture capitalist David Sacks, who is serving as President Donald Trump’s artificial intelligence and crypto czar, also said on Nov. 6, 2025, that there will be “no federal bailout for AI,” as quoted on CNBC.
Sacks’ remarks came on the heels of OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar’s statement on Nov. 5, 2025, that the company looks to build an ecosystem involving private equity, banks, and a federal “backstop” or “guarantee” to help fund its infrastructure investments, the same CNBC article indicated.
Government Shutdown
With the government shutdown ongoing, there is a shortage of official economic data. This is leaving the Fed to assess economic conditions and adopt policy decisions with limited understanding.
Meanwhile, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, corporate layoff announcements witnessed a 183.1% monthly spike in October, marking the sharpest jump in over two decades, as quoted on Reuters. Cost-cutting and AI-driven restructuring have been held mainly responsible for these corporate decisions.
However, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer offered a new plan to Republicans that would allow the U.S. government to end the record-long U.S. government shutdown that began on Oct. 1.But Republicans ruled out Schumer’s proposal, which called for a one-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, as quoted on CNBC.
Dearth of Economic Data Raises Investor Anxiety
With the government partially shut down, investors received limited economic data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics was unable to release the nonfarm payrolls report for the second straight month. Economists had expected a loss of 60,000 jobs and a rise in unemployment to 4.5%, as quoted on CNBC.
The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) announced that it will cut flights by 10% across 40 major airports, potentially affecting 3,500 to 4,000 flights daily. The move has been adopted to address safety concerns amid a prolonged government shutdown that has left air traffic controllers unpaid and air traffic control operations strained.
Meanwhile, a University of Michigan survey showed that consumer sentiment has fallen near record lows, the same CNBC article noted (read: FAA Cuts US Flights by 10%: Turbulence Ahead for Airline ETFs?).
Winning ETFs of Last Week
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of last week.
Defiance Enhanced Long Vol ETF VIXI – Up 5.4% Last Week
United States Natural Gas ETF UNG – Up 4.5% Last Week
State Street SPDR S&P Insurance ETF KIE – Up 4.3% Last Week
Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF KBWP – Up 3.9% Last Week
Franklin FTSE Brazil ETF FLBR – Up 3% Last Week
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State Street SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE): ETF Research Reports Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF (KBWP): ETF Research Reports United States Natural Gas ETF (UNG): ETF Research Reports Franklin FTSE Brazil ETF (FLBR): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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